Spring take-up.



H. C. KIRK, 1R. SPRING TAKE-UP. APPLICATION FILEDJULY 7. 1914.

Patented June 15, 1915.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO1, PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTUN, B1 C1 HENRYC. KIRK, JR,OF ROLAND PARK, MARYLAND.

SPRING- TAKE-UP.

7 Application filed July 7, 1914.. Serial No. 849,377.

. To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY C. KIRK, J r., acitizen of the United States of America, residing at Roland Park,Baltimore county, Maryland, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Spring Take-Ups, of which the following is aspecification.

This'invention relates to a clip to be applied to the spring suspensionsof automobiles and other vehicles.

It is a fact well-known to those skilled in the art that the greaterpart of the rattle which is generally incident to the operation of oldvehicles of this sort, is due to the play of the springs at thesuspension pins. This can be reduced in some instances for the timebeing, by tightening the nut which holds the pin in place and drawingthe ears in which the pin is carried together, the degree' to which thisis possible being determined by the weight and stiffness of the partsand their formation. In some cars, the ears are connected by a circularwall forming a cup or socket for the reception of the end or eye of thespring and with such construction, it is wholly impossible to accomplishanything in the way of taking up the play by tightening the bolt 01',

1n. Even where the ears or lugs yield slightly, this method isineffective because they are thrown out of line when pulled together andsoon wear so as to neutralize the benefit obtained.

Another way of accomplishing the same end is by the introduction of thinwashers between the spring eye and the ears which hold the pin, but inorder to get these washers in, they must be made very thin so that theyare of little service as they are quickly ground up and destroyed. I

Various devices of the same general nature have been tried but nosatisfactory result has been reached. To overcome these difficulties andto provide effective means for taking up the lateral play of the springsat the suspension pivot, is the object of the present invention.

To this end, I provide a spring clip which engages the side of thevehicle spring near the end and applies constant lateral pressure,tending to hold the spring against one side of the socket and thusprevent rattling. In order that this device may not be subject todestruction by grinding, as are the others which are offered to thetrade, it takes its bearing not inside, but outside of the socket,

preferably under the nut on the suspension pin or shackle bolt, or itmay be otherwise secured to the chassis, particularly to the ends of thelongitudinal beams thereof, within the scope of the invention. i

In the form of the invention shown, the clip is a bent plate spring,having at one end an eye to take over the suspension pin or bolt beneaththe nut, the other end being provided with outwardly disposed jaws toengage the edge or side of the vehicle spring and press it against oneof the ears carrying the suspension pin.

By the use of this device not only is rattling of the springs preventedbut the necessity for tightening the suspension pin is eliminated makingthe springs much freer in their actionwith a resulting increase in theease with which the car rides.

A spring clip constructed in accordance with my invention in itspreferred and an alternate form together with various types of springsuspensions to which the clip is applied, is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the clip;Fig. 2 is a plan; Fig. 3is an end view; Fig. 4 is a side elevation ofthe front end of a chassis beam showing a fragmentof the spring with theclip in operative position; Fig. 5 is a bottom plan of thesame: Fig. 6is a fragmentary view of a double rear spring suspension with two of theclips of the invention applied thereto; Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectionon the line 7 7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a view showing the application ofthe clip to the forward spring of the wellknown Ford suspension; andFig. 9'shows a modified form of clip.

Referring to the drawings by numerals each of which is used to indicatethe same or equivalent parts in the different figures.

the clip 1 shown in Figs. 1 to 8, consists of a ll-shaped steel spring,the leg 2 of the U being elongated to a considerable extent and providedwith an eye 3 to take over the end of the suspension pin or bolt beneaththe nut. In this form of the inven-' by a distance much greater than thewidth of the vehicle spring so the latter may move :treely up and downwithout swinging the clip about the pin or giving it any tendency towear.

Ihe application of the invention to spring suspensions of the varioustypes is clearly illustrated in Figs. 4 to 8.

In Figs. 4: and 5, I have shown the front ends 7 of the longitudinalbeams of the chassis brought well forward, depressed atv the extremeends and provided with two ears connected to form a cup 8 to receive thespring, the end of which is provided with an eye 9 which is secured inthe cup by means of a bolt or pin 10 passing through the ears andprovided with a nut 11 taking over the end of the pin. It will be notedthat the end of the spring isof sufficient width to fit the cup, or viceversa, and when the car is new there is no play, the purpose of thedevice of the invention being to take up the play after the parts havebecome worn from use, but the life of the clip is unlimited and it maybe applied to new cars to become effective when wear appears.

In Figs. 6 and 7, I have shown a double suspension with a clip 1 appliedto the edges of the springs 12 and 13.

In the Ford suspension, the axle is provided with an upright bracket 1from which a link 15 is suspended, the link having ears which receivethe pin 10 and embrace the end or eye of the spring through which thepin passes. Ihe manner 01 applying the clip is similar to the manner ofits application to the other types of suspension.

In Fig. 9 of the drawing I have shown a modified form of the invention,consisting of a spring plate slightly ofiset but not in the form of a- UThe operation of the invention will be clearly apparent from thepreamble and description taken in connectionwith the drawing. When thespring has become loose, or

even when the car is new, the clip is applied by taking off the nut 11,placing the eye of the spring over the end of the pin or bolt 10,putting onthe nut over the eye and engaging the adjacent side of thespring with the aws 6. In this position the spring clip is compressed,deflecting the arms 2 and 5- inward toward the center of the U, and thevehicle spring-eye is forced over to the re mote side of the socket,taking up any play which may exist. As the wear increases, the clipstill serves its purpose and any amount of play may be present withoutany resulting noise from this part of the machine.

An important advantage of the device of the invention, is thearrangement whereby the clip, instead of being placed inside the socketwhere it would be subject to grind and its utility thus reduced, isplaced outside the socket where there is practically no grinding actionand it is subject to so little wear that its life is practicallyunlimited.

I have thus described two embodiments of my invention specifically andin detail in order that its nature and operation may be clearlyunderstood by those skilled in the art. However, the device and thefeatures thereof may be widely varied and differently applied withoutdeparture from the principle of the invention.

The specific terms are used descriptively rather than in their'limitingsense and the scope of the invention is defined in the claims.

I claim 1. A take-up clip for a vehicle spring suspension consisting ofa bent spring having an eye to receive a suspension pin at one end andjaws at the other end to engage the edge of the vehicle spring.

2. A. take-up clip for vehicle spring suspension consisting of a bentspring having means on one end for engaging the chassis and means ontheother end for engaging the vehicle spring.

3. A take-up clip for vehicle spring suspension consisting of a U-shapedspring having one leg longer than the other, an eye for a bolt at theend of the elongated leg and jaw-s at the end of the short leg.

4. A take-up clip for vehicle spring suspension consisting of a bentspring having an eye for a bolt at one end, leg and jaws at the otherend, the eye being split and the separated portions offset to form a nutlooking device.

5. In a vehicle spring suspension, spaced ears on the chassis to receivethe end of the vehicle springs, a suspension pin, the ears beingapertured to receive the pin, a spring having its end between the ears,the end of the spring having an eye to receive the pin and a take-upclip in the form of a bent spring having an eye at one end taking overthe end of the pin outsideone ear, a nut to hold the eye in place andjaws on the other end of the spring to engage the edge of the vehiclespring.

6. In a vehicle spring suspension, spaced ears on the chassis to receivethe end of the vehicle springs, a suspension pin, the ears beingapertured to receive the pin, a spring having its end between the ears,the end of he spring having an eye to receive the pin, and a take-upclip in the form of a bent spring having an eye at one end taking overthe end of the pin outside one ear, a nut to hold the eye in place andjaws on the other end of the spring to engage the edge of the vehiclespring, the jaws being spaced apart to permit play of the vehicle springwithout changing the relation of the clip to the suspension pin.

7. In a vehicle spring suspension, spaced ears to receive the end of thevehicle spring, on the other end of the spring to engage the asuspension pin, the ears being apertured edge of the vehicle spring. 10to admit the suspension pin, a spring having Signed by me at Baltimore,Maryland, its end between the ears, the end of the this 2nd day of July1914. 7

spring having an eye to receive the pin, a HENRY C. KIRK, JR. take-upclip in the form of a spring hav- Witnesses: v 1

ing an eye to take over the pin outside one EDWARD L. BASH,

ear, a nut to hold the eye in place, and jaws EDWIN F. SAMUnLs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents;

Washington, D. 0."

